There have been many researches about SUGV (Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle) mechanism regarding off-road mobility and obstacle negotiation. This paper introduces an analysis of geometry parameters to enhance the vertical obstacle negotiation ability for the SUGV. Moreover, this paper proposes an anti-shock structure analysis of wheels to protect the main body of the SUGV when it falls off a vertical obstacle. Major system geometry parameters will be determined under certain constraints. The constraints and optimization problem for maximizing the ability of vertical obstacle negotiation will be presented and discussed. Dynamic simulation results and experiments with manufactured platform will also be presented to validate the analysis. Several types of wheel materials and structures will be compared to determine the best anti-shock wheel design through FEM (Finite Element Method) simulations.
